A Chicago man who died of cyanide poisoning just before he was to collect $425,000 in lottery winnings had been inspired by a pilgrimage to lead a better life and stop gambling.

7-Eleven store clerk Ashur Oshana said Urooj Khan had told him he was going to stop playing the lottery after being on the hajj in Saudi Arabia. But Khan bought his winning scratch-off ticket anyway and gave Oshana a $100 tip.

Khan’s lump-sum check was cut by the state Comptroller’s Office on July 19. Khan died July 20, and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said he died of natural causes.

But a relative asked for a deeper examination, and the results showed Khan was killed by cyanide poisoning.

His death is now classified as a homicide.

The Supreme Court won’t stop the government’s funding of embryonic stem cell research, despite some researchers’ complaints that the work relies on destroyed human embryos.

The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from two scientists who have been challenging the funding for the work.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia earlier this year threw out their lawsuit challenging federal funding for the research, which is used in pursuit of cures to deadly diseases. Opponents claimed the National Institutes of Health was violating the 1996 Dickey-Wicker law that prohibits taxpayer financing for work that harms an embryo.

Researchers hope one day to use stem cells in ways that cure spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease and other ailments.

Google’s executive chairman is starting a visit to North Korea that has prompted controversy and fascination.

Eric Schmidt of Google arrived Monday in a country considered to have the world’s most restrictive Internet policies. He is part of a delegation that includes former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

It is the first trip by an executive from the California-based Internet search provider to North Korea.

Also on the trip is Jared Cohen, director of the Google Ideas think tank. Cohen is a former State Department policy adviser.

Washington has criticized the trip as not “helpful.” North Korea has drawn criticism for launching a long-range rocket last month.

Richardson calls the trip a “private humanitarian mission” but it’s not clear what the group hopes to accomplish during the visit.

Nebraskans who enjoy spending time in the outdoors can now buy 2013 state park permits for $25.

The permits, which are required to drive into any state park, recreation area or historical park, are available from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Once Nebraskans buy annual permits, they can buy duplicate stickers for $12.50 each.

The permit stickers must be affixed to the lower corner of the windshield on the driver’s side.

Anyone who doesn’t want to buy an annual permit must pay $5 for a daily permit.

Officials say a suspected robber of a suburban Detroit restaurant who apparently returned months later to get some food is under arrest after being recognized by employees.

The Oakland County sheriff’s department says workers at a McDonald’s in Pontiac spotted the 40-year-old man Saturday in the drive-thru.

Sheriff’s deputies responded and took the Pontiac man into custody. He was being held at the Oakland County Jail pending charges.

The robbery happened Oct. 5.

Downsize Fitness is an exclusive health club, evocative of the nation’s trendiest gyms. But there’s a strict requirement to join: You must be 50 pounds or more overweight.

The chain wants its members to feel comfortable while exercising, so there are no mirrors inside and the windows are fogged. Even the equipment is designed for heavier people.

Chicago entrepreneur Francis Wisnewski says he started the gym because “I’ve been overweight my whole life, and I was embarrassed to go to the gym myself.”

The first locations opened in Chicago and Las Vegas in 2011, and expanded to Dallas in 2012.

Gym member Janie Busch said she likes the supportive atmosphere.

Krisanne Hale, a personal trainer in Dallas, is still trying to lose weight. She says that helps members relate.

Authorities say 600 comic books have been stolen from a Lincoln apartment building.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Emily Hansen was keeping the comic books for a friend and had put them in a communal storage area of her apartment building.

When she went to do laundry last week, she discovered the comic books had been taken.

Hansen says all of the comic books were about “X-Men” and included some dating back to the 1970s.